Proverbs 16:2 (WEB)

Passage

All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Yahweh weighs the motives.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 16:1 The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh.

Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Yahweh weighs the motives.

Proverbs 16:3 Commit your deeds to Yahweh, and your plans shall succeed.

Proverbs 16:4 Yahweh has made everything for its own end— yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ways", "clean", "eyes", "yahweh", "weighs", and "motives". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ways" and "clean", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "The plans of the heart belong to..." into verse 3's "Commit your deeds to Yahweh and your...", so "ways" and "clean" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "ways" and "clean" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.